NNY

Making Sense of Single Life in the Twenty-First Century

Eight out of ten young women say they’re hoping for marriage, but three out of ten are still single at thirty.

The difference between life here and life hoped for can be disillusioning—and cultural changes have made single life in the twenty-first century more confusing than ever. Now and Not Yet offers guidance for navigating this new territory with purpose and contentment.

Make sense of life in the gap between expectations and reality

Singleness may be an unexpected in-between, but it’s much more than a holding pattern. Now and Not Yet is about making the most of this time.

I would recommend sharing copies of Marshall’s book, Now and Not Yet, a study of several Christian singles of various ages who are learning about discipline and contentment where God has placed them.  

-Mark Earley, Breakpoint, 6/19/2007

Little girls learn early to love marriage and family. 

Yet the trend of the last generation is that more young women are spending more years single—and many would say that’s not by choice. The average age of first marriage has climbed more than four years since those of us in Generation X were born.

Not surprisingly, the circumstances of singleness can sometimes be perplexing. Few of us received specific guidance about this phase of life as we were growing up. Frankly, no one seems to have expected it. Nor, with few exceptions, has there been much investigation of the disconnect between our expectations and reality—either how this gap came to be or how we as individual women should deal with the divide now that we’re in the midst of it.

Ten Ways to Live Now and Not Yet

1. Live deliberately
2. Be reflective
3. Seek balance in life
4. View life as an adventure
5. Take reality in stride
6. Continue to hope for marriage
7. Have an elastic view of the future
8. Have a sense of purpose anchored in God
9. Be sober about vulnerabilities, make choices accordingly
10. Be encouraged by what God has done to this point